Milei Insults Lula, Sparking Brazil Row

Milei insults Lula, and the fallout has now reached the diplomatic level. Brazil has recalled its ambassador to Argentina after accusing Argentine President Javier Milei of insulting President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during a visit to São Paulo.

The dispute began at a rally in São Paulo where Milei appeared alongside Flávio Bolsonaro as the campaign for Brazil’s presidential race took shape. Milei did not mention Lula by name, but he attacked “the thief” and “the convict,” a clear reference to Lula’s past imprisonment before his corruption convictions were annulled and he returned to power in 2022. Standing with Flávio Bolsonaro, Milei said the younger Bolsonaro was the only candidate who could stop Lula.

The rally placed Milei squarely in Brazil’s political fight. He is a close ally of Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of Jair Bolsonaro, who is now barred from seeking office and has backed his son as the right-wing Liberal Party’s presidential candidate. Jair Bolsonaro himself has been sentenced to more than 27 years in jail for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election to Lula, and he is currently under house arrest.

Milei also directed criticism at Brazil’s Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes, whom he called “bald trash,” though he did not name him outright. Moraes oversaw Jair Bolsonaro’s trial and earlier this month rejected Milei’s request to visit the former Brazilian president while he remained under house arrest in Brasilia. That denial appears to have added another layer to an already tense political exchange.